At this point in his ever evolving career, pianist and composer, Steve has taken it to the next level with the release of his stunning new album, “Dividing The Darkness,” To fulfill his creative vision for this project, Steve chose to work with one of the premier new age and contemporary instrumental producers in the world; the Grammy winning founder of the legendary Windham Hill Records, Mr. Will Ackerman. Along with Will’s roster of world-class studio musicians at Imaginary Road Studios, Steve has created an album that has garnered critical acclaim from highly regarded reviewers in the genre, who have described it as having “an astonishing level of sophistication, intensity, and heartfelt emotional expressivity,” In fact, the maestro Ackerman himself refers to the emotional range heard in Steve’s recording as: “a testament to the resilience of the human soul and the power of hope,” And in Steve’s own words: “When one’s talent is realized and pursued in a positive way, its limits may be nonexistent,”

QnA with Foghorn Media

Foghorn Media: What inspired you to become a pianist/composer? Who are your early influences?

Steve Rivera: I have always had a passion for music. I grew up with music in the home. My musical interests comes from several places. My family was and is very musical. My dad plays piano and sings, my older brother Robert (who passed away 6 years ago) was active playing piano, and one of my younger brothers plays piano and is a proficient guitar player. I first started playing music at a very young age. My dad often tells of a story that when I was about 5 years old he came home from work and I was really excited to show him a new song that I wrote.

FM: Tell us a little about how you write. How do the songs come? What gets you going creatively?

SR: Well in regards to how I write songs, it all depends on why I sit down and what I am trying to write. Other times I will just have a tune rattling around in my head and then I will sit down and work on it. I may just be moved by some emotion (happiness, peacefulness, anger or disappointment) and sit down and want to express those emotions through music.

FM: Your bio mentions “you took a break from music to work for a professional ice hockey team” us what went on there and more?

SR: Well back in the mid 90’s I had went to my first ice hockey game and fell in love with it. Growing up in Southern California I surfed and skated my whole life, but I had never ice skated before, let alone play ice-hockey. I started playing ice-hockey and shortly after that I had the opportunity to work for the Los Angeles Kings Hockey team as one of the assistant equipment managers. It was during the Wayne Gretzky years.

FM: What is the first record you bought and why?

SR: Oh wow. If my memory serves me correctly it was Iron Maiden’s ‘Number of the Beast,’ I really liked the album cover.

FM: What current Australian acts inspire you?

SR: Well obviously my current favorite Oz artist has to be Fiona Joy.

FM: Tell us a little about your music and what a crowd can expect at a live show ?

SR: I describe ‘Dividing The Darkness’ as “retrained simplicity that is emotionally moving,” Being that I was classically trained I can easily move up and down the piano to “show off” how good I am. But with ‘Dividing The Darkness’ I wanted to create music that was moving, flowing, and open. Knowing that I was going to have award winning musicians included on the album, I really wanted to leave them room too. So while my album is definitely piano driven, I have always thought of ‘Dividing The Darkness’ as a musical whole, so much more than just piano.

FM: Favourite artists of all time?

SR: Mozart.

FM: Favourite film?

SR: Wow. There are so many. A wide variety from, ‘The Usual Suspects’ to ‘Blazzing Saddles’ and ‘The Princess Bride’ to ‘Awakenings’ and ‘As Good As it Gets,’

FM: Favourite book?

SR: Les Miserable by Victor Hugo

FM: What are your future plans for 2016/2017?

SR: That is a really hard question that I don’t think I can give a knowledgeable answer too. I would really like to see my music move forward, but I realize that while I will do everything in my power to be present and do what I can to move things forward at the end of the day it is really not up to me. There are so many things that happen in life that I have learned no matter how much I plan or prepare life can and does take turns of its own. I am just really excited about finding out what the future has in store.

If you haven’t yet, read through a QnA with the boys to kick off their latest EP The Door –

Q & A with Jack and Curtis………

What inspired you to become a singer in a band?

Curtis

The meticulous strain of learning covers and not playing them perfect and or well. If it’s your own song you get to decide what’s perfect and what’s right. It’s a pretty good feeling playing your own music and seeing people in the crowd enjoying themselves as much as you do. Kinda if we get you off then we’ll get off kinda thing.

Jack

My old man played guitar when I was young and I always wanted to play. He got me a nylon string and off I went (he still has that guitar). Dad loved James Taylor, Paul Simon, Dylan, and all of those singer song writers, so I guess that is where it started. My teen years in the 90’s in the UK started the band/rock music for me. It was a great time to be around the music scene in England: Oasis, Blur, The Verve even The Spice Girls – ha ha.

Who are your early influences?

Curtis

As I came to the understanding that I wanted to be a musician I really liked musicians that were unique and matter what they were doing you kinda knew it was them. Early on I was influenced by a lot of bands. I try and steal something from everybody. I am a bit of a guitar pedal addict so if they are using some sort of effect they are an influence. It’s my way of hiding that I actually have no idea what I am doing.

Tell us a little about how you write, how do the songs come? What gets you going creatively?

Curtis

Usually Jack or someone would come in with an idea, then we try to flip it on its head and make it good, ha ha. No, we jam it out in the room with the boys try new and interesting ideas over the old ones. Really the songs only come together with us pushing each other to be different. I work really hard on them on my own, but no matter how hard you plan and think your idea is right everyone else’s is usually better. That’s the great thing about a band its amalgamation of lots of ideas.

What gets us going is being in that room together, when everything clicks and we all get a little smirk knowing this feels right; probably the beers as well.

Jack

Sometimes they just happen. The good ones just flow. It’s usually something I’m angry about. I get some chords going but the melody and lyric is what I find most important. Someone once told me to write what I know and feel don t try to fake it. Which is so true and the best tip I ever heard.

After that I take it to the band. Then they make some noises and change some parts and boom we have a new song. I would say one in every three we write makes it to the live set. One in four get recorded.

Your bio mentions “newsworthy angle/funny story or event’ tell us what went on there.

Jack

The Gibson Guitar endorsement was amazing. We had finished pre-production on our album ‘Burning In The Sun’ and we are hanging out in the studio. Marshall, our Publisher & Label) and all round Legend said ‘You guys need anything else for recording?’ Yeah some good guitars, we said and laughed it off. Next day phone rings, it’s Marshall – ‘Go down to the pro shop, they’ve got some GIBOs for you to use’. I jump in the car, the exhaust pipe falls off on the way over, get to the shop meet the Rep, top bloke, we walk out with a Thunderbird Bass, Nikki Sixx Signiture (took it out of the display case for us) an SG and a Vintage Les Paul.

Put about 15 grands worth of guitars in the back of my 1000 dollar car next to the broken exhaust I recovered from the road. A few months after that I was added to the Gibson Artists list. Now I put my fancy guitar into the back of my 1000 dollar car next to the broken exhaust.

What is the first record you bought and why?

Curtis

It was a Wiggles tape, I was 7.

Jack

The one and only, Chesney Hawks, went halves with my brother it was a vinyl single, I have no idea why.

What current OZ acts inspire you? Ditto for international acts?

Jack

I am inspired by a lot of bands and artist we play with. The hard work they put in and the amazing talent that goes mostly unnoticed. Australia has a massive music community waiting to be heard. Tune into some community radio is my advice. International acts – at the moment I can’t stop listening to Jason Isbell’s last two albums.

Tell us a little about your music and what a crowd can expect at a live show?

Curtis

I like to think or music is always evolving, I’m pretty sure we don’t play anything the same twice, we kinda feel each other out and hope that us having a good time shines through. We can get pretty loud but we love it that’s why we do it.

Jack

We really enjoy the live shows and I hope people see that when we play. As for the crowd we will take anyone who shows up, ha ha

Favourite artists of all time?

Curtis

For me, it’s Radiohead , NIN, Queens of The Stone Age, Tool and the two Jimmys’ (Page and Hendrix) with a notable mention to Dave Gilmore. It’s hard though, I’ve been influenced by a heap of bands that I still listen to today. I could be hear all day naming people. Once you find an artist you go and find out who influenced them, it’ a never ending cycle.

Jack

Van Gogh. Can’t pick just one for music

You are backstage with ‘insert artist you adore or hate’, what do you say?

Jack

Kanye West can you please shut the fuck up

Where do you see Aussie music heading?

Curtis

I’m really not sure, I’m hoping away from the computer. Hopefully, more performers and lesson button pushers. Don’t get me wrong there is a lot of talent in some of them and I enjoy it, wish more of them would use it as an instrument and less of a cheat.

Jack

I think we might be on the bottom of a cycle. The music industry is playing catch up with the internet and more home production and electronic music is flying around. We also have the reality music TV shows that are finally loosing their appeal. I believe that one band will come along and start up a big music movement again like Oasis did for the UK in the 90 s. Maybe it’s time for the smaller independent labels to rise as the big ones struggle. It’s music so you just have to wait and let it do its thing.

What are your future plans for 2016/2017

Curtis

We are looking at playing as many shows as possible, doing what we love. Work on new material continue to work on us as band and just do what we do.

Slow Club New Album “One Day All Of This Won’t Matter Anymore”
Available 19 August 2016
Out on Moshi Moshi/Planet

How do you keep a band interesting after ten years? It’s a questionSlow Club’s Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor must have asked
themselves as they started work on their fourth album.The answer
seems to be producer Matthew E. White, the master of Southern-
gothic folk, whose in-house band at Richmond’s Spacebomb Studios
provided the consistency and tone the album required. Almost every
track was played live in the studio, allowing the long-established
session band’s natural chemistry to augment Charles and Rebecca’s,
with the double advantage of recording being very effective, and also comparatively quick.

“One Day…” contains some of the best melodies they’ve yet created.
The duo’s knack for writing hooks and melody has, if anything,
become stronger. There are choruses here you instantly feel you’ve
known your whole life, like ‘Ancient Rolling Seas’ timeless, reassuring refrain of “I’ll Always Be By Your Side”, or ‘Champion‘s Dolly Parton via- Linda Ronstadt anthem of self-celebration through the darkest times.
Perhaps best of all are a pair of songs to be found at the top of what
traditionalists would call “side 2”- ‘Rebecca Casanova’, a slice of
widescreen, four-to-the-floor pop that recalls soft-rock giants
Fleetwood Mac in the way it channels heartbreak onto the dance floor, and ‘Tattoo Of The King’, a tale that takes Neil Young and the Doobie Brothers to the disco.